Otis & Sydney and the Best Birthday Ever by Laura Joffe NumeroffMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
Sweet book about being best friends. Great illustrations. For very young readers.
Booklist (September 1, 2010 (Vol. 107, No. 1))
Preschool-Grade 1. Books don’t come much cozier or any less threatening than this. Otis is a fuzzy little bear in green overalls. So is Sydney. Therefore, it will not shock the reader (though the bears are gobsmacked!) that they “soon discovered that they had much in common.” Best friends forever, Otis decides to throw Sydney a surprise birthday party. Out go the invites, in come the candles, and up go the balloons. A misprint on the invitations, however, prevents anyone from attending. Many a picture book has been predicated on the turmoil of a party gone wrong, but in Numeroff’s hands, the problem’s just a blip—Sydney is perfectly happy to celebrate with Otis, and celebrate they do. It’s a gentle lesson, though for some it will be too gentle, with Otis’ professed regret coming off as a bit inauthentic. The content and style of Andreasen’s pen, ink, and digital illustrations are resolutely old-fashioned, which fits well with Numeroff’s storytelling. There’s nothing earth-shattering in this comforting tale, but that is likely just what its creators intended.
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